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Copyright 2014 Ben McCann
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ISBN: 978 1 78076 592 1eISBN: 978 0 85773 474 7
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Cin-Files: The French Film Guides
Series Editor: Ginette Vincendeau
From the pioneering days of the Lumire brothers Cinmatographe in 1895, France has been home to perhaps the most consistently vibrant film culture in the world, producing world-class directors and stars, and a stream of remarkable movies, from popular genre films to cult avant-garde works. Many of these have found a devoted audience outside France, and the arrival of DVD is now enabling a whole new generation to have access to contemporary titles as well as the great classics of the past.
The Cin-Files French Film Guides build on this welcome new access, offering authoritative and entertaining guides to some of the most significant titles, from the silent era to the early twenty-first century. Written by experts in French cinema, the books combine extensive research with the authors distinctive, sometimes provocative perspective on each film. The series will thus build up an essential collection on great French classics, enabling students, teachers and lovers of French cinema both to learn more about their favourite films and make new discoveries in one of the worlds richest bodies of cinematic work.
Published and forthcoming Cin-Files include:
bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Ramona Fotiade
Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) Chris Darke
Amlie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) Isabelle Vanderschelden
Casque dor (Jacques Becker, 1952) Sarah Leahy
Un chien andalou (Luis Buuel, 1929) Elza Adamowicz
Clo de 5 7 (Agns Varda, 1961) Valerie Orpen
Le Corbeau (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1943) Judith Mayne
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) Susan Hayward
La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) Martin OShaughnessy
La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) Ginette Vincendeau
Le Jour se lve (Marcel Carn, 1939) Ben McCann
La Rgle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939) Keith Reader
La Reine Margot (Patrice Chreau, 1994) Julianne Pidduck
Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955) Alastair Phillips
I walked into the cinema. The film had already started. It was a good film and I gave it my undivided attention. When it was over I walked out and looked up at the marquee. Le Jour se lve was the title. Amen to that, I said.
The Dud Avocado , Elaine Dundy
For my parents, Geoff and Eirlys
Contents
Acknowledgements
This book began life many years ago, over lunch at the Au Petit Fer Cheval in Paris, when Sue Harris suggested I write about Le Jour se lve . My thanks, then, to Sue. Id particularly like to thank Ginette Vincendeau for offering me the chance to contribute to this marvellous series, and for her immense patience, feedback and guidance along the way. There were times when this book looked unlikely ever to see the light of day, and so I offer my sincere gratitude to both Ginette, and Philippa Brewster at I.B.Tauris, for their intuition and editorial expertise. My appreciation also to Geoff Schilling for assistance with the images, and Pat Fitzgerald for her copy-editing work.
Im also most grateful to the staff at the British Film Institute National Library and the Bibliothque du Film (BiFi) in Paris, and to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide for their financial support and assistance.
Finally, a very special thanks to Jacqueline, who kept me on track, and to Monty, who was born as the last chapter was being written.
Synopsis
France. An unnamed industrial suburb, the present day. The film unfolds in a series of flashbacks.
A worker in a sandblasting factory, Franois (Jean Gabin), kills unscrupulous dog-trainer Valentin (Jules Berry) and barricades himself into his room on the top floor of an apartment block. He is soon besieged by the police, who fail in an attempt to shoot themselves into the room. Franois pushes a large wardrobe against the door, sealing himself in. He begins smoking, pacing around the apartment, and reminiscing.
In a series of three flashbacks, punctuated by sequences in the present, it is revealed that Franois is romantically involved with a young florist, Franoise (Jacqueline Laurent), and with Clara (Arletty), Valentins assistant at a nearby caf-concert show. Valentin grows jealous of Franois, as the older man was once casually involved with Franoise. After spying on Franois and Clara, Valentin falsely claims to be Franoises father, even though both Franois and Franoise are revealed to be orphans (and share a name day). Valentin does not want Franois to continue his courtship of Franoise. Franois and Franoise meet in a greenhouse, and she promises to not see Valentin again. They tenderly confess their love for each other for the first time. Valentin eventually confronts Franois in his room with a revolver. An extended argument ensues (during which Franois threatens to throw Valentin out of the apartment window), and provoked, Franois shoots and kills Valentin.
Franois becomes hysterical and screams to his friends and co-workers who have gathered in the small square beneath the apartment block. As day breaks, a delirious Franoise is tended to by Clara. Riot police arrive and disperse the crowd. Two policemen climb over the roof of Franoiss apartment and throw a tear-gas canister into his room. At that same moment, Franois, overcome with despair and grief, shoots himself through the heart. The film ends with the sound of a ringing alarm clock and tear-gas clouds filling the room around Franoiss body.
Introduction
I saw it seventeen times in one month [] and four times in one day, each time leaving the cinema dazzled and engulfed by an inexplicable sense of pain and pleasure. (Claude Sautet)
